Aircraft



July 19, 19.32. I J. REHBock I AIRCRAFT Fil ed Aug. 19. 1930 3 sheets-sheet 1 ATTORNEY.

J. REHBOCK .July 19, 1932. I

AIRCRAFT Filed Aug. 19, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 z .w W 3 aka: new

Jul 19, 1932. R HBO K I 1,867,759

AIRCRAFT Filed Aug. 19, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented July 19, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE AIRCRAFT Application filed August 19, 1930, Serial No. 476,375, and in France June 5, 1930.

This invention has relation to air-craft and .more particularly to that type adapted to be carried by a human being and operated by an engine with controls within easy read of the arms of the person.

The object of the invention is to provide an air-craft of the type described designed to carry an individual or person.

A further object of the invention is to im- 70 prove the details of construction and specifically to increase the facility of control.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter appear in the following description and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Like reference numerals indicate like parts through the several figures of the drawings in which:

Fig; 1 is an elevation of a pair of wings constituting the sustaining members of the craft,

Figs. 2 and 3 are respectively a bottom plan and a top plan of one of the wings,

Fig. 4 is an elevation of the craft showing the wings folded and the engine in diagrammatic outline,

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the device in the condition shown in Fig. 4,

Fig. 6 is a sectional View of the end of one of the supporting arms and the mount thereon for one wing,

Fig. 7 is a View of the split ring employed in opening the wing, and

Fig. 8 is a sectional view through the multiple-pivot joint between the engine shaft and the supporting arm.

Fig. 9 is a view of a modified form in which the drive is through belting rather than 40 through gearing,

Fig. 10 is a side elevation ofastill further modified form in which the drive is through belting, but powered manually, Fig. 11 is a front elevation of the form of Fig. 10.with parts removed, and

Fig. 12 is aplan of a part of the modified forms of Figs. 10 and 11.

The invention may be divided into the following component-parts: 1. The mounting of the craft upon the body of the wearerand the positioning of the supporting elements. 2. The construction of wing. 3. The mounting of the wing upon the body of the craft whereby a bodily pivotal movement of the wing is secured and also an axial movement of 65 the wing. 4;. The system of controls whereby the two movements of the wings are secured as well as the folding and spreading. These several parts will be now described in detail and their individual functions pointed out after which a. recital of their conjoint operation will be given.

The numeral 10 represents a yoke adapted to pass over the shoulder of the wearer with the longer prong thereof extending to the back. Two such yokes are provided and'these have loops 11 in suflicient number to permit of the passage of straps to adequately secure the craft to the body of the wearer. Between the yoke and mounted rearwardly of it is an engine 12. This engine is shown in diagrammatic outline only'and it will be appreciated v that any suitable type of engine may be employed for this purpose. The casing of the engine is extended to either side as at 13 to provide a support for a transmission box 14, which in turn carries the pivotally mounted arm 3 at the upper end of which is the gear case 4. Extending at right angles to the arm 3 is the stub shaft 2 carrying the wing 15. It 8 will be appreciated that the wing and parts just described are duplicated on the opposite side of the craft.

The wing 15 is composed of four segments, a, b, 0, and d, and each segment is secured to an upper hub 16 and a lower hub 17 ina manner to permit the hubs to be separated from each other or brought close together upon the stub shaft 2. To effect this the hubs 16 and 17 are provided with pivot extensions 18 and 19 on each of which is mounted a tubular member 20 and 21 respectively. One tubular member 20 is secured to a tubular member 21 by an arcuate tubular member 22 by a joint 23 which will permit of a slight pivotal movement between the parts. The members 20, 21, and 22 just described constitute a framework in which is mounted a segment of the wing of light metal or other material sufliciently strong to sustain the mo is in its lowered position as shown in Fig. 6

there, will be an opening or expanding of the wing into propeller form, and that when the hubs occupy their contacting position on the stub shaft 2, as shown in Fig. 4, the wing will present the form of a disc. The upper hub, it will be appreciated,-is tied or bolted to the stub shaft 2 as at 24, and as shown the upper end of said stub shaft is squared to fit the squared aperture in the hub 16, and the crown plate 24' acts as a safety device to prevent the hub. 16 from upward movement. The. lower hub is free to revolve upon the circular portion of the stub shaft and to slide thereon. On the lower hub is mounted a split ring 25 free to revolve with relation to said hub and it is through the medium of this split ring that the lower hub is pulled down to open the wing into propeller form.

The lower end of the stub shaft 2 is mounted in a bearing 26 and at its lower end carries a beveled gear 27 meshing with a beveled gear 28 on the end of an axle 29 which revolves in the supporting arm 3. It will be appreciated that the bearing 26 is a' part of a gear case 4 which is carried .at the end of the arm 3and which encases the two beveledgears and as well provides means for the mounting of control elements hereinafter to be described.

Referring now to Fig. 8, the supporting arm or sleeve 3 is shown as secured within any rotation of the cross axle will cause the beveled gear 35 to drive the beveled gear 33 and axle 29, which in turn transmits rotation through the gears 28'and 27 to the shaft 2.

" The ends of the cross axle are mounted in the legs of a U-shaped housing and carry the spur gears 37 and 38 which mesh with similar gears 39 and 40 fast upon a screw shaft 41 bearinged in the-opposite sides'of the body of the U-shaped housing. This shaft 41 carries a screw gear 42 which meshes with a helicoidal gear 43. f

. This helicoidal gear is mounted upon the engine shaft, and it will be appreciated that axle 34 through the two pairs of spur gears' and from the cross axle to the axle 29 as hereinbefore described.

'It will be further appreciated that by this construction the housing 30 will be permitted a swinging movement between the legs of the U-shaped housing 36, and that the U- shaped housing itself will be permitted to swing upon an axis coinciding with that of the engine shaft. A reflection upon these two movements will demonstrate that the wings may be spread as shown in Fig. 1 or brought together in perpendicular position as shown in Fig. 4, and that in addition to these two movements they may be angled from-their horizontal position shown in Fig. L

1 to a maximum of about 45.

It will be appreciated that while the one wing has been shown and described in detail,

the other wing is of identical construction,

and that they are designed to be operated in like manner. To cause the wings to be angled I have attached to the stubs 44 upon each side of the U-shaped housing, a U-frame 45, which connects the two housings together in such a way that one will not be moved without the other. The wearer may move the two housings by gripping. this U-frame.- By this means the unison of movement between the two wings is secured.

Thespreading and folding of the wings indicated by the two positions thereof in Figs. 1 and 4 is accomplished by cables extending from a point 46 near the'center of the supporting arm 3 to any suitable winding device 47, such as a small drum of standard construction made available to the operator as a control meansi These elements if operatedto draw in the cable will cause the wings to occupy the position shown in Fig. 4, while a similar mechanism indicated by the numeral 48, acting upon other cables and passing over idler pulleys (not shown) will constitute a means for causing the wings to occupy the position shown in Fig. 1.

To control the expanding of the individ ual wing any suitable means may be employed for exerting tension upon the split ring 25, as for instance links and levers or cables. As shown-in the drawings I have illustrated this means by the provision of cables. On the lower portion of the gear housing 4 I have mounted a bellcrank 49 with three arms, to one of which is attached a cable extending 'to the split ring and to the other arms cables extending to any point on the body of the craft within easy reach of the wearer. While in Fig. 6 a single bell crank is shown, it will be appreciated that each wing is provided with two such bell cranks. The wings are not intended to be necessarily opened or closed in unison, because at times it is desirable to produce certain results to have one wing open and the other closed, or one partly open while the other is closed.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated I; that there is produced an air craft having certain capabilities of movement of wings and control whereby a human being may propel himself to rise, advance and descend, as well as to guide the movements in the air.

7 These capabilities are so varied that a dein Fig. 1 both wings being in propeller form,

one can .rise from the ground when the engine is started. To now advance after hav ing risen from the ground the'loop 45 is tilted so that the wings will be given the necessary angular position of a propeller-to produce a forward movement.

vOrdinarily 1n aerial navigation advantage is taken of the wing surface to sustain the craft and a vertically mounted propeller to drive it. In the present craft the sustaining and drive are accomplished by the same means, namely the pair of revolving wings mounted at a given angle from the position shown in Fig. 1 to produce the'necessary buoyancy as well as drive. When the particular angle is determined upon, the U-frame is locked in position by any suitable means and for this purpose there is mounted a segment 48 on the supporting yoke 10. The de- 5 tails of this lock are shown in connection with the modified form of the invention.-

VVhen it is desired to descend the wings are given their vertical position shown in Fig. 1 and while still rotating are collapsed as shown by the wing position to the right of Fig. 1 where the wing-presents a substantially plane disc. If the descent is too rapid a spreading of the wings only slightly takes place which will produce a steadying of the descent. It will be appreciated that the wings will under the pressure of air take the position shown in the right of Fig. 1 and can when desired be spread against that-pressure as shown in the position tothe left of Fig. 1.

In the guiding movements of the craft manipulation is made of the wings, one being spread more than the other to produce a greater pull on one side than on the other which will give an angular movement to the craft as a whole.

Another very important feature arises from the physical aerodynamic efi'ect produced by the specific construction of .the wings wherein the front edgeof each wing segment is longer than the 'rear edge thereof, whereby in the open wing when the hubs are spaced the projecting edge of one wing section occupies a plane above the plane of the .rear edge of the adj acent section and extends 4 beyond the same, and whereby in the closed wing the front edge is extended beyond the general circumference of the wing. This is advantageous for two main reasons. First,

the air used for one blade and therefore put in motion, may be said to be thrown away under the following blade at a certain distance, whereby the following blade works in airnew and immobile. bile air whipped by the extended part of the wing helps greatly to the movement of the craft and is comparable to the output from the 'whip at the extremity of the birds wing.

It is also apparent that when the wing sections are in closed condition the wing may be said to produce a parachute effect,

and when in open position it is a helix. By

.the extension, of one edge of the wing beyond the other it will be appreciated that there is not a complete overlapping of edges of wingssections and as a result the extended portion of the wings produces an automatic opening of the wing when it is desired to pass it from a closed to an open or helical condition.

While these fundamental movements have been set forth, it will be appreciated that the skill and technique of an airman will enable one to use the craft described in a multiplicity of ways to produce varying results.

Secondly, the immo- While an engine has been shown as the motive power in the form of the invention just described as well as a drive mechanism consisting of shafts and gearing, it will be appreciated that substantially the same results may be obtained by a belt 'drive and that manual operation of a craft of this kind is also possible. To illustrate these possibilities there is shown in Figs. 9 to 12 two modified forms of the invention.

In Fig. 9 the numeral 10' indicates arear plate on the supporting yoke on which is mounted an engine 12 the shaft of which is extended to either side. A pulley 49 is mounted on the end of this shaft over which takes a belt 50 driving the stub shaft 2 through. the pulley 51. A .pair of turnin I pulleys 52 are mounted upon the arm 3' an serve to direct the belt at an angle when the wings are extended as shown in Fig. 9. It

will be appreciated that the other elements of the frame, such as the pivoting of the arm 31 and the spreading of the wings, etc-., are the same as have been described in connection with the preferred form of the invention.-

To substitute for the engine 12 (Fig. 9) 1 manual drive, a framework is provided consisting of two triangular sides 53 joined -to.-

gether by the shaft 54, the hand crank shaft 55 and the foot crank shaft 56. Uponeach L On this shaft 54 are mounted pulleys 49' which are employed to drive the stub shafts 2" similar in all respects to that shown in Fig. 9 and there referred to as 2.

In Fig. 10 is shown the segment 48 which extends from the yoke 10" and is used with any conventional locking mechanism 60 to lock the U-frame 45 against movement when it is desired to maintain the wings in any set position.

It will be noted that the bringing of the wings of the modified form of Figs. 9 to 12 into a position similar to that shown in Fig. 4 will slightly shorten the belt drive. This is desirable because it will thereby cut off the drive from the wings and cause them to be stationary. It will be further appreciated that any belt tightening device might be employed however, if deemed desirable to maintain the drive. 1

While the craft is herein described as one especially adapted to be attached to the body of a human being, it will be appreciated that certain fundamental features of wing construction, wing mount and multiple control movements of wings, may be applied to an body which may be desired to propel throng the air and that they may be used in pairs and multiple pairs for this purpose.

While I have shown the wings as formed of four segments, it will be appreciated that the wings ma be formed of more or less segh ments in num r, dependent upon the size and upon the use to which the craft is to be placed.

e wings may, also have convex .or concave shapes rather than flat, or any other shape found desirable in the particular use to which the craft is to be placed. The leading edge of the segment is longer than the rear edge.

-In view of the manlfold possibilities of control of the wings it will be appreciated that onecan obtain a wide variety of actionin the Wings, for instance, a fluttering of the wings may be superimposed upon the rotation thereof, and as well by the same wings a helicoptic flight, ornithoptic and orthoptic flight may be secured. The helicoptic action is secured by the rotation of the open win s. The ornithoptic action is obtained by a apping of the wing, varied in speed as the needs require. The orthoptic action is obtained by permitting the wmgs to remain idle completely or partially.

The wings may be provided with brakes either acting upon the wingitself or upon the transmission.

What I claim is:

, 1. In .an aerial craft, a pair of opposed wings each having the form and action of a helix, mounts for said wings adapted to swing them into horizontal co-incidence or in .sub-

' stantially parallel planes, means for oscilswing and for controlling the oscillation of the wing mounts.

. 4. The craft of claim 1 in which the wings are so formed that they maybe changed from helical form to a substantially flat disk, and in, which selective means are provided for controlling the swing and for controlling the oscillation of the wing mounts, and for changing the form of the wings.

5. In an aerial craft, a pair of revolvable wings, supporting arms for said wings, a

mount for said arms to support them upon the body of a load in a plurality of positions, controls for tilting said arms to and fro, and for swinging said arms to bring the wings in a horizontal co-incidence or in substantially parallel vertical planes above the load, and means for rotating said 'wings while in any of their several positions.

6. The craft of claim 5, in which the wings have the capability of a plurality of forms, and means for controlling the form thereof.

7 In a wing mount for an aerial craft, a motor casing, a housing adapted to oscillate with respect to said motor casing, a supporting arm adapted to swing with respect to said ousing, and a wing mounted for rotation on said supporting arm.

8. The wing mount of claim 7 wherein transmission mechanism is carried by the housing and supporting arm to permit the motor to drive the wing.

9. The wing mount of claim 7 wherein are provided means for driving the wing from the motor in said casing, means for oscillating the housing and means for swinging the arm.

10. In a mount for a wing of an aerial craft, a drive shaft, a housing containing gearing mounted to oscillate uppn said drive shaft, a supporting arm for the wing adapted to swing upon the housing, and means for transmitting rotary motion from said drive shaft through said housing to wing drive elements in said supporting arm.

11. A wing construction for an aerial craft comprising a shaft adapted to be rotated, a fixed hub on said shaft, a slidable hub on said shaft, a series of wing segments, each segment having one edge supported from the fixed hub and a second edge supported from the movable hub, said edges lylng always in parallel planes and connected at the outer ends by an arcuate member, providing a wing which will have a helical shape when the two hubs are spaced and a disk form'when they are brought together, and rubber like material interposed between the meeting edges of the wings to form a tight joint.

12. A wing construction for an aerial craft,

4 comprising a shaft adapted to be rotated, 21,

hub fixed to said shaft, a hub slidable on said shaft, a series of wing segments each having 

